16/07/2021

Tainá looks to her idols for inspiration to forge her own path in mathematics.

Tainá durante a premiação da OBMEP 2016

When asked about her most memorable moment with the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematics Olympiad for Public Schools), 16-year-old Tainá Isabela Queiroz Drumond answers without hesitation: the Fields Medal award ceremony in 2018. Like the other gold medalists from the 12th OBMEP, she was invited to participate in the International Congress of Mathematicians (ICM) in Rio de Janeiro, where she met great idols of the discipline. “It was incredible, I was speechless the whole time with everything that was happening. I had the opportunity to meet Artur Avila, winner of the Fields Medal in 2014, and I even took a picture with him. I also met Marcelo Viana,” she recalls enthusiastically.

Tainá durante o Congresso Internacional de Matemáticos (ICM) de 2018

The occasion was also special for Tainá's mother, ambulance driver Adrieni Queiroz Drumond, who, by accompanying her daughter on the trip, was able to board a plane for the first time. “It was so beautiful, wonderful. Tainá met many people from other countries, it broadened her horizons,” says Adrieni.

The impact of the experience led the student to seek new medals in the OBMEP (Brazilian Mathematical Olympiad for Public Schools). Since participating in the competition, Tainá has already won three gold medals and one silver medal, becoming the first student from the Escola Municipal Professora Isaura Santos, in Belo Horizonte, to win the top prize.

A native of Belo Horizonte, the medalist has always shown an aptitude for learning new things, and she could already read at the age of four, shares Adrieni. Mathematics and the exact sciences have always been among her favorite subjects. "I love literature and biological sciences too, but I like the exact sciences because they provide a clear path to arrive at the answer," explains Tainá.

The student's curiosity and dedication caught the attention of her teachers early on. "When I gave her a list of exercises, she was the first student to finish and bring her work to my desk for me to correct. And it was always all right. She also used to find different ways to solve problems, which made the classes much more interesting for me," recalls Jonas Domingos de Souza, who was the medalist's math teacher during the Fridays and 8th grades of elementary school.

A medalhista com o professor Jonas Domingos de Souza

It was Jonas who encouraged Tainá to participate in the OBMEP for the first time in 2016. After passing the first phase of the competition, the student was delighted with the type of mathematical problem the test presented. “It was very different from what I knew. School math is very theoretical, and the OBMEP takes that theory and applies it to fun problems to solve,” she shares.

Once she qualified for the second phase, Tainá began a series of studies that culminated in the student's and the school's first gold medal in the competition. The news was received with joy. “Since I hadn't done very well in the first phase, I didn't expect to win the medal. I remember the results came out in the early afternoon, and I ran to school to celebrate with my classmates and teachers,” says the medalist.

The achievement sparked a desire within the school to engage with OBMEP. “Both the students and the teachers felt very motivated. Tainá participated in an awards ceremony with the city's mayor, we made posters with her face and put them up around the school. It was a very positive influence.”

Tainá com sua mãe, Adrieni Queiroz Drumond, durante uma homenagem na Escola Municipal Professora Isaura Santos

Even though the student left school to pursue high school education at the Federal Center for Technological Education of Minas Gerais (CEFET-MG), the impact of her achievement is still felt today. “Tainá became our star. She graduated and left, but she left a trail of success, hope, and possibility for the students,” emphasizes Jonas.

Currently in her second year of high school at CEFET-MG, this young woman from Minas Gerais faces a hectic routine. In the morning, she attends classes for her technical course in computer science; in the afternoon, she attends high school. She also finds time for a project at ISMART (Social Institute to Motivate, Support and Recognize Talents) and classes in the Junior Scientific Initiation Program (PIC Jr.) . Even so, she remains enthusiastic about learning. "In the PIC I was doing the mentoring program. I took an introductory course in astrophysics that was incredible," she says.

A medalhista com professores e colegas

Soon, Tainá plans to enroll in a computer science degree program, becoming the first in her family to enter higher education. Her university of choice is still undecided. “I would love to study at the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG), which is a renowned institution throughout Latin America, but I'm also thinking about trying for a university abroad,” she says. So far, the achievements of this young woman from Minas Gerais have been enough to fill her mother with pride. “She is an example to me, very hardworking and intelligent. I wish her all the best in everything she enjoys and wants, and that she continues to succeed, because she deserves it,” says Adrieni.